Unspeakable Language
by PrincessPrimeroseChekov
Summary: Primerose is the new girl on the Enterprise. She has a lot in common with Chekov, so they ought to become good friends, so why is she acting so cold towards him? And why is she hiding her past from everyone?
1. Episode 1

Unspeakable Language

Episode 1: The New Girl on the Bridge

It was a quiet day onboard the _Enterprise_. They had just left Space Station 556 yesterday, and Captain James T. Kirk was reviewing the new roster in his quarters with First Officer Spock. The new crew was predominantly Ensigns and non-officers, such as new medical technicians. Nothing unusual; it would be easy to arrange assignments. Just as Kirk was about to finish up the review, the last name on the list caught his eye.

"Mr. Spock." he said, handing his PADD over. The half-Vulcan raised his eyebrow and looked at it curiously.

"Most curious, Captain. It seems we have a special alien on board our ship."

"Agreed. She is registered as being only half-Human, like yourself. But have you ever heard of a Triplecettan?" Kirk asked.

"Only rumors and legends, Captain. Nothing of the Triplecettan race has ever been proven. They are said to be xenophobic and natural enemies of Tholians. Another rumor says that they register time much more differently than we do, and that their language and writing is unable to be learned by Humans." Spock explained. "But again, those are just rumors."

"Well, you say they are xenophobic. Yet here one is. Anyway, we can look into the matter later on. According to her file, she has not specialized in anything, but is trained to be a relief officer for the Bridge staff." Kirk said.

"Her credentials are not unlike Ensign Chekov. Navigation, Helm, Communications, even some Engineering." Spock said.

"Well, she should be reporting to the Bridge shortly after we arrive. So let's not delay things any longer, shall we?"

Both men rose and left Kirk's quarters and headed towards the Bridge.

They arrived to the Bridge only to find a pink-haired girl in a red Starfleet dress standing near the turbo lift. She turned to face the opening doors. Kirk and Spock observed that she was clearly a Humanoid, for her skin was far too pale to be just Human, and she had a heart shape under her right eye.

Kirk motioned for her to follow him to his chair. As they spoke, Chekov, who was at the Science station, was relieved by Spock. Chekov turned and saw her (for his back was too her the whole time). He felt as if the Enterprise had just broken under his feet and he were free falling, his heart began racing in his chest. The young Navigator made his way to his usual post, but his brown eyes were wide with wonder.

"I'd forget her, if I were you."

Chekov almost jumped out of his skin. It was just Sulu, but his mind was totally elsewhere. The Asian man at the Helm station just smirked. "Vhat are you talking about, Sulu?" Chekov asked, feigning innocence.

"The new girl, who could relieve just about anyone on the Bridge. Rumor has it that she's actually Triplecettan Royalty."

Chekov didn't speak but his eyes betrayed his thoughts. _What would a person of supposed royalty be doing here? If she even is Triplecettan. Or royalty._

Kirk cleared his throat, to gain the attention of the Bridge crew. "Everyone, this is Princess Primerose of the planet Triplecetta. Apparently, she was selected by her people to go and explore the stars for knowledge. A Triplecettan is selected once every 200 human years. She will be more or less here observing and learning, but she does have credentials to serve as a relief officer, especially for Helm and Navigation."

Kirk paused, and looked around at the crew. The crew overall seemed okay with this; this was not the first time an alien peacefully observed them. His eyes then landed on Chekov, who was staring intently at Primerose, as if trying to figure out what she really was. Could it also have been the look of a young crush?

Primerose did not fail to notice this, either. She had been observing the young man from afar. There was only one reason why she did not go over there and speak to him directly.

"Alright, everyone, to your stations…"

The day watch progressed without incident, although Chekov found it incredibly difficult to concentrate with the observer around.

It wasn't that she was _doing_ anything that should bother him, it was just her very _being_ there that bothered him. He didn't want to make a mistake in front of her. Although what was she to do? She was not in command. In fact, apart from her introducing herself to Kirk (in a very soft voice), she didn't speak at all.

Sulu gave Chekov a nudge on the shoulder. "See you at the rec room later?"

"Yes, I vill be there." Chekov said, and Sulu went off to the turbo lift.

Chekov let his eyes wander to Primerose, whom was now logging off of the computer at her station. She was taking her time; apparently she was in no rush to get off the Bridge. Chekov shrugged and made his way to the turbo lift, waiting for it to return from dropping off Sulu and other officers.

Primerose then stood next to him, also waiting. She stared intently ahead at the red doors. Chekov looked at her nervously and then stared at the doors as well. "So, umm… Miss… Miss Primerose, how vas your first day on the Bridge?" he asked, hoping that he didn't totally screw that up.

Primerose did not answer. She continued to stare ahead. After a few moments she then opened her mouth slightly, as if considering her words. "It… seemed pleasant enough."

Just then, the turbo doors opened, and the night watch crew came onto the Bridge. When the turbo lift was empty, Chekov motioned to allow Primerose to go on first. She blinked, as if she were confused. He followed on after her, and the doors shut.

"Deck six." Chekov said. The turbo began to move downward. "Vhere are you headed?"

"Deck six." she said softly. "…You are… Chek-hoff, right?"

"Chekov. You actually sound it out the way you say it." he said. He felt at ease, for the moment. There was something about her kept eating at his nerves, making him wary, and prepared for anything that might end up being bad.

"Chekov… Please forgive me. I struggle still with English. Of three languages I know, English is hard."

Ah, so that would at least explain why she was so quiet. "What other languages do you speak?"

"Triplecettan, which is unpronounceable to Humans. My mother would speak that all the time… And my Human father would speak Russian. Russian is my easiest language." Primerose said. Just then, the turbo stopped and the doors opened. Primerose walked out, and again Chekov followed her.

"You are Russian too?" he asked excitedly.

"Yes. My father…" She suddenly seemed to bite her tongue, as if wandering to a forbidden subject. "I go now. See you on the Bridge tomorrow." She then hurried off, leaving Chekov totally surprised.

That night, Chekov came back to his quarters. Dinner with Sulu and Scotty went okay, and then they argued for a while over the best alcoholic beverage: scotch, vodka, or sake. Then McCoy had joined in with Tennessee whiskey. And from there, it seemed everyone was throwing out their favorite liquors. Yes, dinner went great.

Except that Primerose was not there.

Why did that bother Chekov? She could have a special meal for herself in her room after all (she was royalty, or so the rumor went). She could have had dinner with the Captain. Primerose could have done 100 different things with her dinner, and still have been enjoying herself.

So why did it still bother him?

He decided not to pursue the matter further for the night. He took off his gold shirt, threw it on the floor, and went into the bathroom to finish undressing and shower.

When Chekov was finally asleep, he was immediately thrust into a dream.

_It was very dark, but the hairs on his neck went up with anticipation. Call it intuition, call it animal instinct. Chekov could just feel the auras and palpitations around him. He was not alone in the room. _

_ "Hello?" he called out. But, whomever it was in the dark with him, did not answer._

_ "Who is there?" he tried again. _

_ "Pavel…" came a weak cry. "Pavel, please help me."_

And, just like that, the dream was over, and Chekov was sitting up in bed, panting heavily, covered in sweat. He flopped down on his pillow. It was only a dream. He couldn't tell who the voice in the dream belonged to, but it sounded desperate. And it haunted his very soul.

Down the hall, Primerose laid on her bed, contemplating how her day went. Her mind quickly rushed through meeting Scotty at the transporter room, being shown where to go by some security guard, and to meeting the Captain on the Bridge. For whatever reason, her mind decided to focus intensely on formally meeting Chekov for the first time. Chekov… At the science station, he seemed like a perfectionist, making every effort to monitor everything on the sensors, that he could take no notice of anyone else. But then at Navigation… Chekov became animated, truly alive. She could feel that about him. Primerose shook her head. She shouldn't be that sensitive to Chekov when she hardly knew him. Unless of course…

Could he be her One?

Triplecettans believed that they were destined to their One. Their One was their mate for all eternity, in the realm of the living, and in the realm of souls.

_Oh geez, he can't possibly be my One. He's a Human!_

But she was also half-Human herself. It could have something to do with the theory. But what would her mother say? Her mother, Queen Emily, did everything she could to try to pass Primerose off as a tradition Triplecettan princess. Sure, her mother mated with a Human, but Queen Emily wanted Primerose to be everything she was not.

Her mother would only reject this and make her life only more miserable.

Still, how did she feel of having a Human for her One?

Chekov could not offer her anything. He would only end up using her, exploiting her. He could say sweet words and act as if he loved her. But in the end, it could all mean nothing. Primerose shook her head. _I'll have to do everything in my power to keep him from liking me. Perhaps as the ship goes deeper into space, I'll find my true One. Not just one based off of hormonal imbalances._

When she realized she was still awake, she spoke up. "Computer, what time is it?"

The computer voice quickly responded to her request. "It is 2 a.m. Earth time."

Great. Another night of insomnia.


	2. Episode 2

Episode 2: Pass the peas, hold the accents _**AN: story takes place almost directly after the episode Catspaw. Viewing not necessary.**_

_"Captain's personal log. It has been two days since our alien observer has been aboard the Enterprise. With our mission to Pryus VII behind us, it is now time to learn more about the elusive Triplecettan race. Mr. Spock agrees with me, but as usual, Dr. McCoy has good insight that Primerose may not be so willing to be open to new people so quickly. We must proceed… cautiously."_

Captain Kirk ended his log. He was sitting by his desk, thinking about how to go about this. Kirk didn't know if Primerose would withhold information or not. He wasn't sure if she would even _want_ to talk. She almost never spoke on the Bridge. She reported on time, left on time, did her reports well enough. But she just… never spoke.

Kirk pushed a button on the intercom. "Dr. McCoy, could you please report to my quarters please?"

About five minutes later, Kirk's door chime rang. "Come in." Kirk said. Dr. McCoy walked into his room.

"You wanted to see me, Captain?"

"Yes. I need more advice on how to go about this. I'm worried. She hasn't spoken a word, except where mandatory on the Bridge. And even then, it's in a soft voice." Kirk said, crossing his leg.

"Well, she reported as expected for her physical exam yesterday. I don't have much to go on for Triplecettan anatomy and physiology, but based on her previous Starfleet exams, she checks out okay. She seemed to be peaceful, just much quieter than what I'd expect." McCoy said. "But perhaps after we talk to her this morning I can get a better idea."

"Agreed." Kirk said. At that moment, the intercom whistled. Kirk pressed the button on his desk. "Kirk here."

"Captain, the princess is here at the Briefing Room." Spock's voice came through. "We are standing by."

"Good, Dr. McCoy and I are on our way. Kirk out."

Primerose was sitting at the Briefing Room table, sipping a cup of water. Spock was able to observe her fumble with the hem of her uniform dress.

"You appear to be worried. Is something the matter, your highness?" Spock asked.

"…Concerned for me?" Primerose couldn't help but give a smirk. Even she knew that Vulcans were not emotional and rarely show concern for others. Not because they were not capable of it, but because compassion would, most of the time, be illogical.

"Hardly. It is just logical that you are most comfortable and at ease for when the captain arrives." Spock said, a note of almost sarcasm in his voice.

"Mr. Spock… question." Primerose whispered. It was amazing she could be heard at all.

"Yes?"

"Why… Why does Captain Kirk do this?" she fumbled for the words. "Easier to see computer."

"The captain enjoys learning through interacting." Spock said. "So, this interview is highly logical. In this instance, our computers will have no help for us, as your race, the Triplecettans, are so unknown to us. In fact, until your arrival, I was convinced they were a legend of a long lost race."

"Almost right. Almost." Primerose said. Just then, the Briefing Room doors opened, and Kirk and McCoy walked in.

"Good morning, Princess Primerose. I hope you don't mind being here. We just have so many questions about you and your people." Kirk said, sitting at the head of the table. McCoy sat to his left, Spock now to his right. Primerose remained where she was at the other end of the table.

"…Try my best." she said simply.

"Good, then let's get started. Mr. Spock." Kirk motioned towards Spock, whom then turned to face the pink-haired girl. Her brown eyes went wide, mostly with curiosity.

"Princess Primerose… You are a member of royalty, are you not?"

"Yes."

"It is highly illogical that you of all Triplecettans were just chosen to leave your home world and gather knowledge." Spock said, his hands folded on the table in front of him.  
Primerose sighed. "Part right. Volunteered to go."

"How long did it take you to arrive at Earth to attend Starfleet Academy?"

"Eight Human years." she said softly.

"How old are you?"  
Primerose's brown eyes went wider with agitation. "Я не такой старый! Как вы смеете задавать такой вопрос? Я всего двадцать один человеческих лет! То есть, как шестьдесят четыре года Triplecettan!" _*****_ She then covered her mouth and blushed before groaning. "Ssssorry. Russian easier than English."

"Is that why you don't speak much on the Bridge?" McCoy asked. Primerose nodded. "That's what I thought."

"Why not use the translator? It would be easier on you, and no one would judge at all." Kirk offered.

Primerose shook her head fiercely. "…Feel small. No trans… trans…"

"Translator." Spock corrected for her.

"So, you don't want to use it because it makes you feel small… Okay, there is one other alternative. We can help you learn to speak English." Kirk said. "The rest of the questioning will have to be held off until we are all comfortable with the level we can communicate."

"…Thank you." Primerose said softly. She backed up her chair and was about to leave when Kirk stopped her.

"Princess Primerose… I hope we did not leave a bad taste in your mouth." Kirk said.

Primerose seemed to lick around her mouth for a moment, as if tasting her teeth and hard palette. "Tastes okay." she said shrugging, not sure what he meant by that. She then hurried off to her room.

When the doors shut behind her, Kirk looked between Spock and McCoy. "Opinions?"

"Jim, the girl is going through culture shock." McCoy said surely. "Her reaction to 'I hope we did not leave a bad taste in your mouth', for example. She literally checked her mouth to see if we literally did leave a bad taste."

"Yes, I noticed that too… But can we go as far as culture shock?" Kirk said, somewhat incredulously.

"Captain, it is most obvious she will refuse the use of the universal translator for assistance with her speaking, even when she reverts to her native tongue. We must respect her wishes and treat her like we would anyone else. She also has not been around Humans long enough to understand their illogical ways." Spock said. "If I may make a recommendation?"

"I'll take anything to make this transition easier on all of us, Spock. What do you have?"

"That we ask Ensign Chekov to help her. If you notice, her choice of native tongue was not Triplecettan, but Russian." Spock said.

"I disagree. What she needs right now is another female. I am convinced the only Human female on this ship she saw and ever tried to talk to was Uhura. Which is fine, but I strongly recommend a female's touch to help her through hard times when a man cannot help." McCoy jumped in.

Kirk thought about both claims for a moment. He then gave a small smile. "Who's to say you're both wrong? I am sure there is a way to arrange both. For now, we'll start off on Spock's idea. Chekov might be able to help her with the English portion of things. In the meantime, we'll go through the female profiles on the ship and see who would be willing to take on the role of Human culture and social life."

With this in agreement, the three went off to the Bridge to resume their usual duties.

Primerose was laying on her bed, having the day off now. _I somehow got out of that mess. Any further questions and I might have had to tell them… They must never know._

Just then, the door chime went off. She sat up quickly, completely taken by surprise. Primerose never had a visitor to her quarters yet, which was fine by her. But then her mind got a feel as to who it was. _Of all people! It has to be him!_

"Enter." she managed to say, and sure enough Chekov stepped into the doorway.

"Hello Miss Primerose. The keptin asked if anyone was willing to help you practice speaking English, and I volunteered." he said, giving a sweet innocent smile. If Primerose wasn't mentally prepared for something like this, her own heart might have melted.

"Oh… sweet of you." she said softly. _Great. So I'm stuck with you._ "But later? Not right away, okay?"

"Well, I am off-duty right now. Perhaps ve could go and get a drink? I could introduce you to wodka." Chekov said, stepping into the pink-tinted lighting of her room. It was dark, so he couldn't see much of her room in general. Primerose was curled up in her bed, with her head facing him.

"Wodka?" Primerose asked curiously.

"Yes, only the finest drink in all of Russia!" Chekov said, offering his hand towards her, as she sat on the edge of her bed now. "If you'd like, ve can go now."

"Sure." Primerose hesitantly took his hand, and continued to hold it as they made their way to the rec room.

The rec room was relatively quiet. Most of the crew was on-duty this time of day. In fact, only three other people were inside the rec room. Scotty, Uhura and Janice Rand.

"Well, Janice, I think it's safe to say that the whole crew is excited that you are back!" Uhura was saying to the young, blonde haired woman. Her hair was done up in its trade-mark basket style, something she had been known for since her time at the Academy. Janice Rand was unquestionably beautiful, and was as sweet as she looked.

"Aw, thank you, Uhura. It's wonderful to be back. The _Libra_ was a fine ship, but the _Enterprise_ is closer to home." Rand said, sipping her coffee.

"Does the captain even know you're here yet?" Scotty asked mischievously. This caused Rand to blush lightly, remembering her slight romance between her and Captain Kirk. A romance that could not exist, just because of Kirk's rank.

"N-no, not yet. I did plan to stop by his quarters later and say hello." Rand stuttered nervously.

"There's a princess on board our ship now. Her name is Primerose." Uhura said, stirring at her drink. "I don't know, the girl puts me on edge for some reason, but she hasn't done anything that should make me suspicious."

"Aye, I know just how you feel." Scotty said. "Maybe it's because she doesn't talk much."

"Well, that's all about to change. When the Captain arrived on the Bridge earlier, he ordered Chekov to go and help her learn to speak English. Chekov didn't even question it. He just went." Uhura added.

"Who is Chekov?" Rand asked.

"Oh, right, he's become an ensign shortly after you left. He used to be a cadet when you were still here. He's our main navigator on the ship now, but he can do almost any other type of job, really." Uhura said.

"Sounds to me like the poor guy has a crush on the girl if he left his post that easily." Rand said. The three of them laughed together. Rand smiled, feeling good about this. At least she did not lose her friendships after being gone almost an entire year.

Just then, the rec room doors opened, and Chekov and Primerose walked in, still holding hands. Rand, Uhura and Scotty turned around. "That's Chekov." Scotty said, drinking his glass of scotch. "With the same look of young love in his eye."

Rand couldn't help but agree. "Maybe we should warn him about her?"

The three then looked at each other again and burst out laughing. "Nah, let him figure it out for himself." Scotty said. "That's the way most young lads do."

Chekov and Primerose finally separated their hands when Chekov had to dig out a computer card that would bring two glasses of vodka. He always kept this particular chip with him, for a situation such as this. The young Russian was also fully aware of Rand, Scotty and Uhura laughing about him and Primerose. But he decided not to let it bother him, instead focusing on the job at hand. He put the card into the slot, and the computer materialized two glasses of vodka. Chekov took one, and handed it to Primerose. She put her nose by the rim of the glass and took a whiff of it.

Chekov then took his own glass and, as if to prove the drink was safe, took a sip of it. Primerose then followed suit, trying it out. Her face did not betray any type of emotions, but she did lick her lips before giving a smile. "Weaker than the liquid cupcake drink from home, but wodka is okay." Primerose said.

Janice Rand could barely contain her shock. "She just said 'wodka' instead of vodka, like that was perfectly normal!"

"Well, the lad has a tendency to mix up his v's and his w's. She must have heard him say wodka, and did not realize his mistake." Scotty said.

"And you are going to let him continue to teach her to talk like us?" Rand then hurried over towards the duo.

"That's Janice alright. She's so kind and compassionate, she won't stand to see anyone suffer any type of wrong if she can help it." Uhura said.

"Aye. Well, let's just leave them to it, before the captain comes in and has something to say about it." Scotty said, and he headed out of the room, off to Engineering. Uhura just shrugged and went back to her own quarters.

"Hi there, you must be the new girl on the ship. My name is Janice Rand."

Primerose blinked. This came as a surprise. She had never seen this particular Human before. She could not help but be fascinated with Rand's hair. Her brown eyes went wide with wonder. Primerose couldn't help but want to reach out and touch it.

Her distraction, however, left an awkward gap in the conversation. Chekov laughed nervously. "This is Princess Primerose. I'm Ensign Pavel Chekov, and I'm trying to help her learn to speak English better."

Primerose, now in an almost childish way, reached out for Rand's hair. Rand was turned to face Chekov, leaving her side facing Primerose, so she did not see the hand coming. Chekov saw, but nervously chose to ignore this. He wasn't familiar with Rand or her reactions.

"Well, yes about that." Rand was saying now. "You aren't doing an amazing job so far. You didn't correct her when she said 'wodka' with what was once known as a 'Brooklyn' accent. She doesn't have the Russian accent like you do."

Chekov was taken aback. "I'm wery sorry, Miss Rand…"

But he couldn't finish when Rand turned back towards Primerose, where her hand was outstretched, aimed right for the basket hair. Primerose whimpered. "Sssssorry. Never saw hair like that." She put her hand down quickly.

Rand wanted to snap at the poor girl and be angry. But seeing her so sorry and confused took away all the anger she might have had. "It's quite alright, deary. I could show you how to do this hair style yourself, if you'd like."

"Yes! I like." Primerose grinned. Rand raised her eyebrow, smirking at Chekov as she led Primerose out to her quarters.

Chekov sighed and put in his card for another drink of vodka. This was not going to be easy at all.

_**AN: *the russian translates to: I'm not that old! How dare you ask such a question? I'm only twenty-one human years! That is, as sixty-four Triplecettan years!**_


	3. Episode 3

_**A/N: I am so sorry for the delay, but school has been keeping me busy. And then I kept changing the chapter because it was never good enough when compared to the first 2... anyway, thanks for the reviews and favorites, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**_

Episode 3: She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not

Janice Rand gulped nervously as she stood outside of Captain Kirk's quarters. The captain had ordered her to meet him at 0900 hours, for an unknown reason. It was 0859 hours now. It was almost time.

It had been almost a full year since Rand last saw Kirk. She knew she had wanted to see him almost right away upon returning, but yesterday she had become caught up with meeting Primerose, and before Rand knew it, it was time to make dinner for Sulu (for she resumed her duties as his yeoman). She never had the time to see Kirk. Did Kirk know? Was that why she was summoned to his room?

The clock in the hallway indicated the time was now 0900 hours. Rand took a deep breath of courage and rang his door chime. "Come in." came the captain's voice.

Rand walked inside, and found Kirk at his desk, reviewing some work. "Hello Captain Kirk." Rand said. At least she sounded more confident than she actually was.

Kirk looked up and gave a warm smile. "Janice!" He stood up and walked over to her, but restrained himself from giving her a warm embrace. "You don't know how excited I was to find out you had been re-assigned to the _Enterprise_. I would have called you to come by sooner, but I was busy trying to accommodate the princess."

"And then you had the away mission to Pryus VII. I heard all of the details about that. How lucky you are to still be alive." Rand added in. The two gazed into each other's eyes. Then Kirk got a serious look on his face.

"Janice, I know you are working as Sulu's yeoman again, which is fine. But is there any way I can ask you to make some time to do a favor?"

"Of course, Sulu only needs me to make his dinner when he does his botany studies. I have lots of free time on my hands. What is it that you need?" Rand asked.

"I want you to help Primerose with the transition from Triplecettan culture to Human culture. I'm not sure if you met her…"

"Oh, Captain Kirk, I already have met her and spent some time with her." Rand interjected. With the nature of their relationship, Rand did not worry about assuming too much with Kirk. "I already made a decision to help her. Your Ensign Chekov seems like he means well, but he isn't exactly a woman." She then gave a knowing smirk.

"Well, then that makes things go along much more smoothly." Kirk said and the two shared a gentle laugh. "I'm glad that you're doing well. You were really missed Janice. I won't keep you much longer. Dismissed."

When Janice went out the door, she blushed deeply, and put her hands on her heart. Kirk was so much more gentlemanly than he was a year ago.

Primerose was at the turbo lift, waiting to go down to her quarters from the Bridge. The early morning shift was over. Chekov, who had arranged to change his shift to match hers, was now next to her. "Miss Primerose. Do you have any plans for lunch today?"

"No, why?" she asked.

"Would you like to have lunch with me? We could practice English afterwards." Chekov's brown eyes were wide with hope… and something else. Primerose could not exactly feel what it was, but she had some ideas.

"Sure, that sounds okay."

Chekov's eyes somehow managed to sparkle more excitedly. Which worried Primerose. She couldn't help but get nervous, like he was up to something. The turbo doors opened, and Primerose and Chekov got on together. Chekov didn't make any further eye contact with her, he seemed more interested in the floor as they made their way to Deck Six.

When the doors opened, Chekov hurried off without another word, which surprised Primerose even more. She kept pondering on the subject as she made her way to her room. As soon as the doors to her room closed behind her, and her pink-tinted lights came on, a thought occurred to her.

_He's trying to propose to me._

On Triplecetta, it was normal to become married within days of meeting. You knew your One when you saw him or her. It didn't matter the circumstances. You dropped what you were planning and made time for your One.

_He's trying to propose to me._

Proposal was a Human trait. On Triplecetta, you generally just set a date and did it. Humans, Primerose had learned at the Academy, dragged out the process and involved pretty gold rings, parties, and elaborate ceremonies.

"Там нет, как он может сделать мне предложение!" _There is no way he can propose to me!_ Primerose found herself saying out loud, a habit she developed after listening to her father speak to himself when trying to cook dinner. "Он мне не один! И я должен что-то сделать, чтобы остановить его от получения какой-либо идеи!" _He is not my One! And I must do something to stop him from getting any ideas!_

But what does one do in a situation like this?

Obviously, she could just say no. But then that would start rumors, most likely, like how she would be a royal stiff. No, Primerose could not reject him for the sake of maintaining a good reputation.

But at the same time, she could not say yes either. Saying yes would mean she was acknowledging he was her One and following in Triplecettan tradition. So, that was out too.

Then a thought occurred to Primerose. It was risky and underhanded, but worth the efforts.

She could find a way to make sure lunch never happened. And she just happened to have the ticket to do so.

Primerose hurried over to her closet, activating a purple-tinted light. In the closet was a chest, which she dragged out. Moving aside velvet dresses and a few different tiaras, she found what she was looking for. It was a small bottle marked 'Triplecettan Love Potion'.

"Одна капля этого делает любое Triplecettan влюбиться в следующий человек, они видят, как правило, используются молодые подростки. Моя мать однажды предупредил меня об этом материале. Она не работает на людей. Она попыталась его на моего отца." _One drop of this makes any Triplecettan fall in love with the next person they see, usually used by young teenagers. My mother once warned me about this stuff. It doesn't work on Humans. She tried it on my father. _Primerose said to her reflection in her bathroom mirror as she mixed a few drops of the pink liquid into a cup of water. Her reflection gave a dark smile of satisfaction, although it was hard to tell if Primerose herself was really smirking that way. She picked up the cup and took a whiff. It had a sweet scent to it. "Таким образом, хотя я не хочу серьезного вреда на Чехова, я надеюсь, что он болит живот, и он не сможет присутствовать на обеде." _So, while I do not wish serious harm on Chekov, I do hope he gets a stomach ache, and he will not be able to attend lunch._

Soon, the water was mixed. There was nothing strange looking or smelling about it now. But how did she get it to Chekov? She didn't even know where he ran off. Primerose decided to try going to his quarters. He might be getting ready, rehearsing for his proposal to her. She carefully picked up the water and went over to his doorway.

Pushing the button of the door chime, Chekov quickly appeared from within. Apparently he didn't want anyone coming inside. "Oh, Miss Primerose. It is not time yet for lunch…"

"О, я сожалею. Я думаю, я погорячился. Ну и дела, вы посмотрите пить. Здесь есть некоторые воде!" _Oh, I am sorry. I guess I got excited. Gee, you look thirsty. Here, have some water! _She then held out the water cup to him.

"Как мило с твоей, я был немного пить на самом деле..." _How thoughtful of you, I was a bit thirsty actually... _Chekov answered in Russian, hoping it made Primerose feel a bit more comfortable. Actually, it made him feel more at ease too. He took the cup without much thought and drank it down.

"Увидимся позже то!" _See you later then!_ Primerose quickly ran off, proud of her success.

About an hour later, at 1100 hours, Primerose's door chime rang. Based on the fact that her senses picked up at that moment, it was obvious who was here to take her to lunch. Primerose was still in her uniform, but she changed her hair, just for the sake of variety. Instead of being up in its usual fountain-look, she made ringlets, and rested nicely by her shoulders. Her metallic pink hair sparkled with a touch of glitter added to it. She was ready. Ready for him to cancel, hopefully.

She opened the doors and was surprised to see him looking, if anything, more hyped up and excited than before. "Primerose, my sweetheart! Someone must have shot you with a phaser set on stunning!"

_NO! How can this be happening? He should be sick to his stomach!_ But somehow, a laugh almost managed to escape her lips. She had not heard that joke before. "We should go then? To lunch?"

"Of course! After you." He sloppily motioned for her to go ahead and lead the way. Primerose wasn't sure at this point if it was the love potion that had gotten to him or was it just lots of vodka.

"And that is how the great country of Russia defeated Napoleon." Chekov was saying as the two stepped out of the turbo lift. Primerose couldn't help but have wide brown eyes and hang onto every detail. Normally she'd find a Human history lesson boring, but Chekov was so animated and acting silly, she couldn't help but want to hear more.

They soon wandered into the rec room. As they stood on the line for the food processors, Chekov turned to her, and put his hand on the wall, giving a sly grin. "I know just the right food for you to try." he said. Primerose blinked. "It is from Russia of course."

"Oh, er… sure?" Primerose was taken aback. What had gotten into Chekov? He seemed so adventurous now. Primerose suddenly had a flashback to when her mother was explaining why Primerose should never invest or use the ever-popular love potion.

_"Primerose, you must remember one thing about this love potion. It is ineffective against Humans. I tried it with your father. It provides you with the love you want, not the love you need. And like all loves you may want, it is only temporary. A love you need is full time."_

No wonder. Chekov was suffering from the potion, he just did not realize it yet.

Primerose snapped back to reality when Chekov gave her a tray with a bowl of soup on it. "This?" she asked quietly.

"It is known as lapsha. Noodles with a broth, in this case, chicken broth." Chekov said, setting down his own dish of beef stroganoff.

"Do you feel okay?" Primerose asked, struggling to remember some proper English sentences.

"I never felt better!" Chekov said. "Well, maybe a little tired. But I know some ways to make _that_ better." he winked at her, causing her to blush lightly. "Anyway, how do you like the soup? Only the best right?"

Primerose took a spoonful, and sniffed at it. It didn't smell like her type of meal. Triplecettan's required a larger sugar intake than Humans. This seemed deprived of sugar. But, for the sake of preventing her problems from getting any worse, she took a sip. It wasn't bad. "Tasty." she said, her eyes downcast.

"Vhat's the matter?" Chekov asked.

"N-nothing. English still harsh." she muttered, giving a half-truth. She wanted so badly to use Russian, but that feeling wasn't as strong as the guilt of her using the love potion. What made her think Chekov would be sick from it? This plan only backfired. Now, for sure, he was going to propose to her and if she said no, he'd be sure to go crazy with some form of lust.

Chekov shrugged, apparently in this state he didn't care about her language barriers. As they continued to eat, with Primerose feeling most awkward, Chekov went off about various adventures about him taking down platoons of Klingons, outsmarting Romulans, and even training on Vulcan. Despite the fact that she knew none of this was true, and that Chekov was only talking this way because of the potion, she couldn't help but laugh and enjoy his crazy stories.

Soon, they both finished. "Shall I escort you, my lovely lady, back to your quarters?" he asked, his brown eyes flashing with enjoyment of whatever crazy thought popped into his head.

Primerose wasn't sure what to expect from this. This could be the time of the proposal, once they reached her room. But, based on the way the afternoon went, she _might_ have been wrong. If he really wanted to propose to her, wouldn't he have done it already? Or hinted at it? "Sure." she said simply.

When they reached her quarters, they were grinning at each other. Deep inside the recesses of Primerose's mind, a part of her told her to tell him to leave now. She was almost tempted to listen, but then looking over Chekov, she felt herself starting to blush.

"Stay with me for a few minutes?" she offered.

Chekov touched a few strands of her hair, getting some of the gold glitter on his fingers. "No. There is only one thing I would like to do."

"Hmm?"

"Tribble you for some sweet kisses." He gave her a brown furry thing, but it was not a real Tribble. It was a plushie. Primerose finally gave in, and laughed aloud. Chekov blinked, as if confused.

"Alright. You did 'Tribble' me." she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

At that moment, Chekov's eyes seemed to lose the excited luster, and Primerose then realized that the love potion must be wearing off.

"Miss Primerose? Did you just…?" Chekov asked quietly, putting his hand on his cheek. Primerose didn't say anything but quickly went into her room, locking the doors behind her.

Chekov just blushed and then tried his best to remember what had happened at lunch.


	4. Episode 4

Episode 4: One Small Leap for Triplecettan Kind

It had been about a month after the awkward lunch date, and during that time, Primerose made a resolve to learn better English. And when she meant better English, she meant taking lessons from Janice Rand or anyone else (besides Chekov) whom she could find.

And with all this practice, Primerose soon found herself being requested to join other crewmembers for meals. Except for Chekov. Chekov never asked again, and Primerose was almost content to let that be. Almost. A small part of her still wanted his attention, for whatever mysterious reason.

Primerose was currently eating dinner with Rand. She had explained her Triplecettan diet to Dr. McCoy, who prepared a special meal card for her, allowing her to have an increased sugar intake. So, while Janice was enjoying some sort of Earth fish and vegetables dish, Primerose was eating what Humans called ziti and meatballs. McCoy had given some sort of medical lingo about how carbohydrates were converted into energy in the Human body, and how her Human-half would work the same way. Like Primerose cared about _that_.

Rand was wiping her mouth with her napkin. "He's watching you again."

Primerose blushed lightly. But she couldn't find any words to say.

Rand didn't notice. "I don't know why you don't just tell him to stop. If your lunch date with him freaked you out that much, just tell him. You didn't have to kiss him, you know."

"It was only on the cheek. And you know what happened." Primerose said. At least her English was flowing better.

"Still, you did two things wrong from a Human perspective. One, you gave him a potion mixture that could have hurt him seriously. Second, you led him on to think you liked him back!" Rand insisted.

Primerose was silent again, pausing in eating.

"That's it isn't it? You _do_ like…"

"Shh!" Primerose quickly shushed Rand. "Why not let the whole ship know, talking that loudly!"

"Sorry, princess, but the _whole_ ship already does know, or at least have some ideas. Except for him at this point." Rand said laughing.

Primerose pouted but resumed eating. She decided to change the subject. "Do you have any idea where the ship is heading next?"

"I'm not fully sure. I think to a tri-sun system is the destination, but we won't be there for a few more months."

"A tri-sun system? Are you sure?"

"Well, at least I'm pretty sure. Why? Does it mean something to you? Relatives or something?"

"No. If you meant _tri-planetary_ then I would have had reason to freak out."

That puzzled Rand, but she decided to let it go. From the corners of her eye, she could see Chekov was fidgeting uncomfortably while talking to Sulu. Rand was already finishing up. She would figure out what was going on when she would take her tray away.

Primerose meantime did not need Janice to tell her that Chekov was watching. Ever since that small kiss on the cheek, Primerose was able to sense Chekov better than before. Now when they were on different parts of the ship (him at his navigator's post and her learning how to work on the warp core of Engineering) she could tell you what he was feeling and what he might have been thinking. It was part of why she kept her distance. She did not want to be overcome with Chekov's emotions any more than she had to.

Rand stood up, her plate and glass empty. "I'm going to go see if Sulu will need me for anything. Whether he does or not, I'll see you later okay? Think about what we talked about, princess."

"Okay, Janice. I suppose I'll see you tomorrow." Primerose said. She resumed eating her pasta.

"Pavel."

Chekov nearly jumped out of his skin. He was thinking about Primerose, and how she had changed her shifts to keep herself off the Bridge whenever he would be there, and wasn't paying attention to what Sulu was saying. Now he could tell Sulu was finally annoyed at him.

"Sorry, Hikaru. I keep thinking about too many things at once."

"Like what? Besides her, that is." Sulu said. He hadn't been saying anything important. But whatever it was that was on Chekov's mind seemed pretty big and dominating.

"This is between us." Chekov said softly. "But vhat Miss Primerose is doing isn't all that unlike what my ex-girlfriend did at the Academy."

"You had an ex-girlfriend while at the Academy? You actually had time for that with all those classes you elected to take?" This surprised Sulu. This was the first time Chekov had ever mentioned an ex-girlfriend before.

"Yes, her name vas Irina. Ve had a few classes together, but she eventually dropped out." Chekov gave a sad sigh. "I searched for her on the night she disappeared, but I vas unable to find her. I have no idea vhat happened."

"Irina… Hmm. Never heard of anyone with that name before." Sulu said.

"Before she disappeared, she avoided me a lot." Chekov mused on. He didn't seem to be paying attention to Sulu, and just kept talking. "So, now I wonder. Vill Primerose be the same way?"

"No she won't." Rand's voice came sharply, and again Chekov nearly jumped.

"What makes you say that, Janice?" Sulu asked, as Rand pulled a chair over to join them.

"Oh, it's pretty obvious, at least for me. She has some underlying motivations, but on the surface… Let's just say she'd be terrible at poker." Rand said.

"That's not wery helpful." Chekov whined.

"Well, okay, I'll rephrase that. She'd have a good poker face with you, but a terrible one with anyone else. Except for maybe Spock, but then again, it is highly unlikely that Spock would even play poker to start with."

The three of them laughed. The only recreational game Spock seemed to partake in was three-dimensional chess, and was only known to have been beaten fairly often by the captain.

But then Chekov stopped suddenly as Primerose walked near the table to dispose of her dirty dishes and tray. He wanted to go over and talk to her, and at least find out why she was avoiding him. But before he could even stand up, she was already being called over by Uhura.

"Damn." he said. "I can never seem to get lucky and talk to her."

Just then, the intercom whistle sounded, and everyone paused to hear what was about to be said. It was Lt. Martine. "_Yeoman Rand, Princess Primerose, Ensign Chekov, Lt. Sulu, please report to the briefing room._"

Rand sighed, and got up to confirm the message.

"Wonder what's going on now." Sulu said.

Kirk and Spock were in the briefing room as the four crewmembers arrived. Kirk motioned for them to take their seats. Primerose sat down across from Rand, on Spock's side of the table. Her senses went on their own variation of a red alert as Chekov sat next to her. Primerose did her best to ignore him.

Kirk took his seat last. "I'm sorry this came up so unexpectedly. But we just received word from headquarters, and I needed to formulate a team quickly." He paused, looking at the reactions. No one seemed phased. "We are coming up very close to uncharted space territory, but apparently some sort of old Earth radio waves were picked up by the _USS Prism_ when it was doing its patrol of the Romulan Neutral Zone border. The waves were traced back to a small Class M planet, but no one knows who lives there."

Rand, who had taken up an interest in Communications, leaned forward. "Was anyone able to figure out what the waves were transmitting?"

"No." Spock said. "Apparently, it was all gibberish, as if sent at random."

"Thus comes the point of your mission." Kirk said. He could see Primerose become nervous, tensing up visibly. She had not been on an away mission before.

"From the reports we were provided, it would seem that the planet is safe for Human… er, _Humanoid_ life." Kirk corrected himself. "It should be routine. Nothing major is expected to be found, we just need to find out the source of the waves. Lieutenant Sulu, you will be in charge on the planet. You may beam down whenever ready. Any questions?"

"Yes, I have one." Primerose said. "Why am I going? I have little to offer."

_Ah, so that's why she's so nervous. She doubts her skills._ Chekov thought. He didn't miss the fact that she tensed up either.

"Mister Scott has informed me that you're progress with the engines and the transporter has improved exponentially. I think that you are now ready to learn how explorers work when they go off of their ship." Kirk said.

"Yes sir." Primerose said, clearly unhappy at such a response. Suddenly she sat up a little straighter, letting her chin stick out a bit, clearly trying to express a feeling of superiority. "But you do realize that there is a large risk of danger, correct? I am royalty. I cannot be put in danger."

Spock raised his eyebrow in his trademark Vulcan way. "Most highly illogical."

"How so?" Primerose asked.

"According to your report from 28 days ago, you said you volunteered for the job of exploring space for your planet. You therefore were informed of all different types of known dangers that you may encounter. And, if your advisers were wise, they would have informed you to look out for _unknown_ dangers as well. Therefore, you took a risk of danger far greater than the one this mission presents."

_Well, damn._ Primerose thought. _I can't argue with that logic._

"Very well, Mister Spock. The point is well taken." Primerose answered, and then the team was dismissed.

Scotty beamed the away team down on the planet. The four looked around, and Rand began to smile. "It's just like my home on Earth!" she said excitedly.

Primerose folded her arms across her chest, as if unimpressed. "It looks more like a forest to me. These trees are so tall, I'm surprised I can see the blue sky."

"I used to live near a nature preserve, so this isn't much of a surprise for me, princess. Haven't you ever explored a forest before?"

"No. On my planet, there _are no_ forests." Primerose said. "I'm what you Humans would call a 'city girl'."

Chekov grinned. "I know that term. It vas inwented in Russia!"

Rand rolled her eyes and Sulu just shook his head with a laugh about to escape his lips. Primerose, however, looked as though she were impressed, although she didn't vocalize it.

"Let's just get this over with." she said.

Sulu held up his tricorder, which made its trademark beeping sound. "There is a strong signal coming up north. Let's head that way."

As they walked along, Sulu nudged at Chekov. "Now's your chance."

"Vhat are you talking about? Chance for vhat?"

"Making small talk with her. Janice and I won't interrupt." Sulu said. Chekov blushed but nodded. Sulu motioned at Rand, who took the hint and they went up ahead. Chekov fell in place next to Primerose, who kept looking around, as if waiting for something to happen.

"You're hair is wery lovely. I never saw it in pure sunlight before." Chekov said, feeling very awkward. That was the best he could say?

Primerose gave a snort. She was feeling overwhelmed from her senses. "Not many people have." she simply said.

They walked in silence for a while, keeping an eye on Sulu and Rand, although now they were far away, almost in the distance.

Primerose then stopped, and grabbed Chekov's wrist. "Chekov… Why are you always so patient with me?"

The question took Chekov by surprise. Patient? This was the first time she talked to him in almost a month. "I have no reason to be mad at you, Miss Primerose, if that's what you mean. I miss talking with you, but I am certainly not mad."

Primerose seemed to let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you. I have been meaning to… try again with you. But something always comes up."

"I understand. Life on a starship can be wery busy. Peter the Great, in fact…"

"Where did Janice and Hikaru go?" Primerose asked suddenly, cutting Chekov off. They had stopped for only a few moments, but the other two had gone on ahead without them.

"They must be vaiting for us down the path." Chekov said. "Let's hurry to catch up!"

Chekov led the way, although Primerose was a bit slower as she would slow down to check whenever they came to a new clearing. Chekov couldn't help but wonder what about nature bothered Primerose.

Suddenly, Primerose stopped all together. "Vhat's the matter?" Chekov asked, slowing down.

"It's getting dark, Chekov. We can't keep going like this much longer."

Chekov looked and saw that the sun was almost gone from the sky. Primerose was right. It was time to look for shelter. He saw a hole in a tree, that was very large, enough to protect the two of them. Using his tricorder, he checked the area. Nothing was around, so it was safe. "Ve should stay in there." he said, heading towards the tree hole. Primerose snorted, but Chekov did not feel like arguing it out with her. "If ve do not stay here, ve vill have to sleep outside on the dirt and moss and be exposed to the weather."

"It's not that, Chekov… There's barely room for two of us in there." Primerose said.

Both of them blushed. Chekov then moved aside from the tree hole. "Then you should sleep in there, and I shall stay outside."

Primerose shook her head. "No… I do not sleep, and if I do it's only for a few hours. You better take it."

Just then, a few rain drops started to fall. No more time to argue, they would now have to share the space. Primerose went in first, barely able to sit up properly, but there was still enough room for Chekov. He got in next to her. Their hips were brushing against each other. Primerose shivered. She could sense how nervous Chekov was, like he was afraid of offending her somehow. _How very sweet of him… At least he knows how to behave in a situation like this…_ Primerose thought.

Chekov noticed the shiver. He swallowed his courage and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to his body. Primerose snorted again, indicating her unease. Despite being disapproving, she did not push Chekov away. He was certainly radiating enough warmth as the temperature began dropping.

"You're not cold?" Primerose asked, breaking the silence between them.

"I am from Russia. This is nothing to me." Chekov said. "Oh, are you hungry? I think in all the hurrying ve forgot about food."

Primerose nodded, and she opened a pouch she was carrying, pulling out a ration bar and gave it to him, and pulled a special blended one for herself. Chekov let go of her so they could attempt to eat properly. The moment they separated, Primerose was exposed to the cold, and she shivered.

"You don't like the cold?" Chekov asked.

"Nope, where I come from, it's always warm." Primerose said, trying to keep her eyes and focus on the ration bar.

"No forests or nature either, huh?"

"I come from a tri-planetary system. The planet I was born and raised on is all different cities. Oh, don't get me wrong, we have parks and stuff, but certainly nothing like _this_." Primerose explained. She then looked at him, smirking. "We Triplecettans are _way_ more advanced than you tiny Humans. You'd never fully grasp what we were capable of back when your dinosaurs roamed the Earth."

"You have nothing on Russia!" Chekov said. "Almost anything from Earth was inwented in Russia!"

Primerose laughed. "You forget, I am Russian too."

Chekov blinked. "Oh? I knew you spoke Russian but I didn't know you vere…"

Primerose laughed some more. "Like my hair, not many people know that." she then sobered up. "My life is a long, complicated mess. If you're interested, I could tell you a little about my mother and father."

Chekov nodded, suddenly interested. Perhaps now he could confirm or deny that Primerose was a princess, as the rumor went.

The heart under Primerose's right eye sparkled, catching a stray beam of moonlight from between the rain clouds. "My mother is the Queen of Triplecetta. The best we can translate it for a Human is Queen Emily.

"Well, best I can learn (for she does not share these kinds of stories with me, I had to learn about it from my father), is that she was in a small one-person craft, and somehow ended up lost in space (for she has no navigational skills), and ended up by Earth. She did not know where to go, so she somehow hid herself from suspecting Humans and machinery and ended up in the middle of a blizzard terrain. She ended up wandering and then my father found her, passed out in the snow. Although he could not understand her, he could see she was suffering. He happened to run a hotel in the middle of this blizzard wasteland and took care of her for a while.

"After a few days, she was feeling better, but my father had also discovered that she was not Human. She feared what this may mean, since her craft was also in the wasteland. But he had already taken care of that too and hid it in a huge snow mound. Her secret was safe.

"My father could not understand what Emily was trying to tell him. She even tried writing it down. She got frustrated very easily when he couldn't even retrace her writing. Triplecettan is an unspeakable language."

Chekov's brown eyes were wide with wonder. "So, how did they communicate?"

Primerose sighed. "Like how you and Janice helped me. He attempted, and somewhat succeeded, to teach her to speak a language. In her case, it was English because he was fluent in English.

"And eventually, after spending all that time together, they fell in love. Since my father wasn't doing so well business-wise on Earth, he decided he'd give up his Human lifestyle for the Triplecettan one. And, thus, he went to Triplecetta. I'm not sure why, but his aging slowed down." Primerose paused, looking very serious and depressed.

Chekov didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. It sounded like a happy ending so far. He was going to say something when Primerose opened her mouth to speak.

"I was born out of wedlock. At first it wasn't a big deal, but… I was clearly not purely Triplecettan. My mother tried to pass off my father as a Triplecettan. But now she couldn't. She was forced to admit I was not a full blooded Triplecettan. Triplecettans have a definite fear of the outside. Not of the unknown, but just simply outsiders. But, that's another story for another time."

Primerose looked at him. Chekov, again, did not know what to say. So he just squeezed her hand gently. "So… the rumor then is true." he finally said.

"What rumor?"

"That you _are_ a princess." Chekov said, realizing the impact of such a thing. No wonder her standards were so high. She was used to the best, and certainly sharing a crampy, dirty place like this was not the best.

Primerose stared at him for a moment and then laughed. "Well, **_duh!_**" she laughed even harder. "Did you _really_ think Janice called me that for just a pet name? …Well, okay she probably does, but it comes from the fact that I _am_ a princess."

She leaned forward so her face was almost against his. "Does knowing that make you uncomfortable?"

Chekov blushed. "No. It changes nothing." he said softly.

She closed her eyes and she leaned forward, and Chekov was about to reciprocate the action. They were only a mere few centimeters apart…

"There you are!" Rand cried out.

Primerose and Chekov's eyes both went wide with shock, and both blushing, they turned separated and wiggled their way out of the tree hole. They had apparently talked the whole night, as the sun was already shining, and the rain had stopped. Primerose, however, was faster to recover about this than Chekov was. "Janice! How dare you leave us behind for a whole night?"

Rand gave a serious look. "Well, we found the cause of the signal. It was a Romulan transmitter, trying to draw in Humans. But there were no Romulans around, so Sulu and I were able to shut it off _without you_." She then laughed. "Besides, you looked like you needed to spend some time in nature, princess. Too much city life can be a bad thing."

Sulu then came over. "Don't worry about what happened. We won't tell the captain."

Chekov and Primerose smiled their thanks. Sulu nodded at Primerose. "You should be the one to have the transporter room bring us back up, though. Just so you sound like you are involved with what we were doing."

Primerose took out her communicator, and it gave its welcoming beep. "Landing party to _Enterprise_." Primerose said into it, hoping she got the frequency correct.

_"_Enterprise_ here, landing party."_ came Uhura's voice.

"Four to beam up. We're finished here." Primerose said, relieved she didn't make a mistake.

_"Aye, acknowledged. Stand-by for beam up."_

Within a matter of seconds, they were being beamed up and brought back up to the transporter room. Captain Kirk and Spock and McCoy were already waiting for them.

"Well, that seemed relatively uneventful. What was down there?" Kirk asked. McCoy was giving them all a quick medical check as they talked.

"It was a Romulan transmitter, giving off radio waves to lure Humans to this area. There were no Romulans around, so the four of us were easily able to shut it down. It should not send signals anymore." Sulu reported.

"Very good, I'll make sure Starfleet Command is notified of this." Kirk said. He then stood in front of Primerose. "What did you think of all this? Did you learn anything from this experience?"

"Yes, sir I have."

"Oh?"

"I prefer the comfort of buildings and city life much better than nature and forest life."

And at that, Janice, Sulu and Chekov laughed. Kirk, not fully sure what was going in, soon joined in with McCoy. Only Spock raised his eyebrow in his trademark Vulcan way and walked out of the room, confused as to how that type of statement could have any amusing implications whatsoever.


End file.
